The 10th Armored Division (nicknamed "Tiger Division") was an armored division of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

in World War II. In the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

the 10th Armored Division was part of both the

Twelfth United States Army Group The Twelfth United States Army Group was the largest and most powerful United States Army formation ever to take to the field, commanding four field armies at its peak in 1945: First United States Army, Third United States Army, Ninth United Sta ...

and

Sixth United States Army Group The 6th United States Army Group was an Allied Army Group that fought in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Made up of field armies from both the United States Army and the French Army, it fought in France, Germany, ...

. Originally assigned to the

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

under General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

, it saw action with the

Seventh United States Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fran ...

under General

Alexander Patch General Alexander McCarrell Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars, rising to rank of general. During World War II, he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps ...

near the conclusion of the war. The 10th Armored Division was inactivated on 13 October 1945 at

Camp Patrick Henry Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

, Virginia. On 25 February 1953, the division was allotted to the Regular Army but remained inactive.

History

The division was activated on 15 July 1942, at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama– Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employee ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, around a nucleus of the reorganized and redesignated 3rd and 11th Cavalry Regiments.

Nickname

The "Tiger" nickname of the 10th originates from a division-wide contest held while it was training in the United States, symbolizing the division "clawing and mauling" its way through the enemy. Major General

Paul Newgarden Major General Paul Woolever Newgarden (February 24, 1892 – July 14, 1944) was a senior United States Army officer. Early years Newgarden was born on February 24, 1892 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a United States Army medical off ...

, the division's first commander selected "Tiger" as the winner because a tiger has soldierly qualities, including being clean and neat and the ability to maneuver and surprise his prey.

Combat chronicle

The 10th Armored Division entered France through the port of

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Cherbourg-en-Cotentin () is a Communes of France, city in the Departments of France, department of Manche, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016.Teurtheville, France, before entering combat, as part of the Third Army under General

. Leaving Teurtheville, 25 October, the Division moved to Mars-la-Tour, where it entered combat, 2 November, in support of the XX Corps, containing enemy troops in the area. Later that month, the 10th participated in the capture of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. After fierce fighting, the 10th moved to the

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the we ...

and led the Third Army into Germany on 19 November 1944.

Bastogne

Combat Command-B's lead Sherman tanks, tank destroyers and half-tracks entered

Bastogne Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastog ...

18 December 1944. These were the first combat troops to reach the threatened town. CCB's commander, Col. William L. Roberts, split his command to form a crescent-shaped arc facing eastward five miles from the city. A task force commanded by Maj. William R. Desobry went north to Noville, while a similar group under Lt. Col. Henry T. Cherry wheeled east to Longvilly. Lt. Col. James O'Hara's group shifted southeast to Bras. At the same time, German forces moved westward with increasing momentum. Bastogne, a hub from which seven main roads diverged, was essential to the swift movement of Rundstedt's panzers. Before dawn of 19 December five German divisions attacked CCB. Bazooka-armed American soldiers and a single platoon of tank destroyers fought a column of German

Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panz ...

tanks on the Houffalize-Noville highway, turning them back. More enemy armor followed and with the road blocked, the battle spilled into the snow-covered fields and woods. For eight hours, CCB alone withstood multiple German attacks before reinforcements arrived from the 101st Airborne Division, which had moved into Bastogne under the screen of the 10th's actions. The Germans still maintained an advantage and the outnumbered Americans withdrew closer to Bastogne. The Germans sent pincers to the north and south. The night of 21 December, the pincers met and closed west of the city. In the surrounded city, the 10th assembled a mobile reserve force to strike in any direction. CCB endured the cold, artillery barrages and bombing while their supplies and ammunition dwindled. Fourth Armored Division tanks finally broke through on 26 December, but CCB continued to fight until 18 January. TankshermanM4

After the battle, the 10th Armored Division's 21st Tank Battalion and Combat Command B were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their actions from 17 to 27 December 1944

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. The 101 Airborne Division was also honored with the Presidential Unit Citation for their actions at Bastogne. Years after the war, General

Anthony McAuliffe Anthony Clement "Nuts" McAuliffe (July 2, 1898 – August 10, 1975) was a senior United States Army officer who earned fame as the acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division defending Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge in Wo ...

said "In my opinion, Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division was never properly credited with their important role in the Bastogne battle."

Across the Saar

In early February 1945, the 10th reassembled at Metz and was able to rest briefly after rejoining the XX Corps. On 20 February 1945, the 10th again attacked the German defenses. In one day, they broke the German lines, and after 48 hours, the division advanced 85 miles, overran the Saar-Moselle Triangle, and reached the

Saar River The Saar (; french: Sarre ) is a river in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Vosges mountains on the border of Alsace and Lorraine and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier. It h ...

. The 10th then crossed the Saar and captured

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and a bridge across the Moselle River. The loss of this heavily defended city caused German defenses to collapse. Generals

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...

and Patton visited the 10th Armored Division to congratulate them. The division raced through

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfu ...

, crossed the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

on 28 March 1945, and continued east. The division helped to seize

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Middle Ages, it developed into an important trading centre. A ...

, defended the Crailsheim Salient, and moved south to isolate

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

. As part of the

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...

the 10th crossed the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

on 23 April 1945. By 27 April 1945 it was one of several Seventh Army corps headed towards the Alps to seal off passes out of Germany, reaching

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

, Austria by early May. By 9 May 1945, elements of the 10th had reached Mittenwald, Bavaria, where they halted. The 10th occupied southern Bavaria until September 1945. On 3 October 1945, the division sailed from

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, France. It arrived at

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the U ...

on 13 October 1945 and was inactivated at

, Virginia on the same day. The 10th Armored Division had captured 650 towns and cities along with 56,000 German prisoners. TomsIMG 0003

In one week, the 10th advanced 100 miles and captured 8,000 prisoners from 26 different enemy divisions. After a four-day respite, the 10th was one of several divisions spearheading the Seventh Army drive under General

into

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. With rapid night movements, the "Tigers" continually surprised the Germans. German dispatches referred to the 10th as the "Ghost Division." As it drove into Bavaria, the division overran one of the many subcamps of

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

in the Landsberg area on 27 April 1945, earning it recognition as a liberating unit.

Composition

The division was composed of the following units: * Headquarters * Headquarters Company * Combat Command A * Combat Command B * Combat Command Reserve * 3rd Tank Battalion * 11th Tank Battalion * 21st Tank Battalion * 20th Armored Infantry Battalion * 54th Armored Infantry Battalion * 61st Armored Infantry Battalion * Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 10th Armored Division Artillery ** 419th Armored Field Artillery Battalion ** 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalion ** 423rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion * 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized) * 55th Armored Engineer Battalion * 150th Armored Signal Company * Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 10th Armored Division Trains ** 132nd Ordnance Maintenance Battalion ** 80th Armored Medical Battalion ** Military Police Platoon ** Band

Assignments

The 10th Armored Division served under the following commands in the ETO: * 5 September 1944: III Corps, Ninth Army, 12th Army Group. * 10 October 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group. * 23 October 1944: XX Corps. * 7 December 1944: Third Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to VIII Corps, First Army, 12th Army Group. * 16 December 1944: XX Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to First Army, 12th Army Group. * 20 December 1944: III Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group. * 21 December 1944: XII Corps. * 26 December 1944: XX Corps. * 17 January 1945: Third Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the XXI Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group. * 25 January 1945: XV Corps. * 10 February 1945: XX Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group. * 23 March 1945: Third Army, 12th Army Group, but attached to the XXI Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group. * 1 April 1945: VI Corps, Seventh Army, 6th Army Group. * 8 April 1945: VI Corps.

Casualties

*Total battle casualties: 4,031Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistics and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953) *Killed in action: 642 *Wounded in action: 3,109 *Missing in action: 64 *Prisoner of war: 216

In film

In the 2001 HBO show, '' Band of Brothers'', a 10th Armored Division officer, George C. Rice, played by comedian/actor

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The To ...

, is depicted handing out ammunition and supplies to

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

s of

Easy Company E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is a company in the United States Army. The company was referred to as "Easy" after the radio call for "E" in the ph ...

, part of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

during the

. The 10th Armored Division is also represented in the epic 1970

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning film ''

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

''.

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

George Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

was played by George C. Scott.

Notes

References

* * * * * Patton's Unsung Armor of the Ardennes-The Tenth Armored Division's Secret Dash to Bastogne, Patterson, Eugene

External links

10th Armored.com home page

''The Tigers of Bastogne''

Old Tiger Cub.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:010 10th Armored Division, United States Armored Division, U.S. 10th Military units and formations established in 1942 1945 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1942 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Military units and formations disestablished in 1945